Twenty-six weeks.

I’m twenty-six weeks along now, and I have some praise-worthy news to share! I mentioned a while ago that at my 20 weeks ultrasound, they measured the little one’s ureter that connects to her kidney and found that it wasn’t quite proportional. The doctor said that this issue often resolves itself as the baby grows, but if not then the baby will need to be on antibiotics for a while to protect against UTIs. We’ve been praying for six weeks now that God would correct this issue before our next ultrasound so that our little one wouldn’t have any complications to deal with after birth.

Annnd, {you can probably guess what happened because God is that good}, God showed up in a big and perfect way. Our little one is proportional and looking very healthy…no need for further monitoring! Hallelujah!

Below is the little one’s full body with knees pulled up to her tummy…

The ultrasound tech said that our little girl has a super long femur. Go figure. {I’m 6’ tall for those who haven’t met me before.} I’m guessing her little feet will be pretty long too…

I saw this profile pic and immediately thought that she looks just like her daddy. I know that’s goofy to say from a black and white blurry pic, but I can totally see him in her…

And here’s the dreaded self-portrait…

The biggest thing that happened these two weeks was some Braxton Hicks contractions I had for three straight days after a really stressful, physically and mentally exhausting event. I definitely over-did it, but thankfully the contractions went away after three days. They were pretty close together for a while, but resting and drinking water helped them decrease. No worries!

I also had a big weight spurt – 8 lbs in 4 weeks. I’m still on track for healthy though. I’m pretty lucky since I’ve not tried too hard to watch my diet…just eating healthy {while indulging as needed} and following my body cues. It’s been strange to watch my once-athletically fit body change so much, particularly difficult the first trimester, but now that my stomach looks like a baby’s living there, rather than just a bunch of Twinkies, I’m starting to embrace the new physique. ;)

We also got some big confirmation that God is leading us to try out me keeping my job. It’s not at all what we envisioned for me, and to be real honest, it’s not at all what I would pick. But we’ve prayed for God to show us His path and make it obvious, and boy did He! I don’t want to share details of the way He worked it out specifically, but as of right now, I’m planning on working from home around three days and from my office two days a week. It will be, without a doubt, a huge challenge for me, but I’m trusting that God isn’t finished with me at my job, and He will provide what I need to do both jobs {mommy & manager} well. Like I said, it’s not what I would pick myself, but I’ve learned time & time again that God knows what’s best for me way better than I know. Eugene’s in agreement with me and helped me make the decision, which helps immensely. I have some anxiety about how I’ll make the whole thing work while breastfeeding {Lord willing}, staying up at night, taking care of the home, keeping a life, and managing my personal high expectations. I think anxiety right now is probably normal. The good thing is that my anxiety isn’t about whether things will be okay or not; it’s just about the logistics of all the little stuff. I know if God’s leading us this way, He will make it okay. And that, my friends, give me a world of peace.

I love this little one so much already. Just about every day, if not three times a day, I tell her daddy how much I’m looking forward to meeting her. He feels the same way. We are so excited to welcome her into our life. We’ve never even met, yet we love her. {So much.}